As a place of thousands of years of civilization, traditional festival in Hanoi is also preserved and passed down from generation to generation. This is an indispensable part of the spiritual life of the people of the capital, containing good, typical cultural values rich in national identity. Follow yourvietnam.org to explore about interesting features from festivals in Hanoi.
Festival in Hanoi: Let’s find out top 10 unique traditional festivals
1. Co Loa Temple Festival in Hanoi
This festival takes ten days at An Duong Vuong Pagoda, Dong Anh, Hanoi, from the 6th to the 16th of the first lunar month every year. People come to the temple and participate in many exciting activities, such as:
- Ceremony: solemnly held with a procession of 12 palanquins carried around Trong Thuy well. And it will stop at the village gate, along with many traditional activities and farewell rituals on the last day.
- Festival: there are folk games of tug of war, wrestling, rice blowing competition, swinging, watching ca tru singing, fireworks,…
2. Dong Da Mound festival
This festival commemorates the famous Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da victory of cloth hero Quang Trung-Nguyen Hue. One of Hanoi’s oldest and most important festivals dates back 200 years.
Every year, on the 5th day of Tet, people flock to watch the festival with a majestic palanquin procession from Khuong Thuong communal house to Dong Da mound. Dragon dance performances and games showing martial spirit are worth attending.
3. Huong Pagoda Festival
One of the traditional festivals in Hanoi attracts many tourists from all over the world to participate. The Huong Pagoda Festival in My Duc district lasts from January 6 to the end of the summer of March.
Everyone wishes to ask the Buddha for peace and luck at this festival. In addition, you can also sit on a boat to watch the dreamy Yen stream, explore Huong Tich cave, climb mountains, listen to folk songs,…
4. Thay Pagoda Festival
Thay Pagoda, a place to worship the founder of traditional Vietnamese water puppetry art – shaman Dao Hanh, is located in Sai Son commune, Quoc Oai, Hanoi. This festival in Hanoi takes place from the 5th to the 7th of the 3rd lunar month with many spiritual activities and unique water puppet shows.
Let’s go to Thay Pagoda to admire the lush green mountains and participate in the festival to learn more about the special cultural features of the people here.
===> You can also explore some destinations near Thay Pagoda when traveling in Hanoi.
5. Bat Trang Village Festival Hanoi
This is not only a place to experience pottery or buy quality ceramic products. According to Hanoi’s experience guide, you can also participate in impressive traditional festivals every spring.
The festival in Hanoi honors the long-standing pottery profession left by the ancestors. On the other hand, this is also an opportunity for people to come and pray for peace and luck for the new year.
The festival is held in the communal house of Bat Trang village from 14 to February 16 every year. There, many meaningful activities are organized, such as water procession, bathing of tablets, and finally, a procession of pills to the communal house.
In addition, tourists also have the opportunity to watch human chess play and listen to worship songs. Exciting experiences in the pottery village that you and your family should visit in the year’s first days.
6. Giong Soc Son Temple Festival
Every year, on the 6th to 8th of the first lunar month, the people of Soc Son district organize a festival to commemorate Saint Giong – the hero who was instrumental in repelling the enemy.
This famous traditional festival in Hanoi interests many people because it not only preserves classic beauty but is also very important to the spiritual culture of the people here. The festival has impressive rituals such as the majestic elephant procession, coronation ceremony, and bamboo flower offering ceremony at Thuong temple,…
7. Hai Ba Trung Temple Festival – Me Linh
Many places in our country worship and regularly organize festivals to commemorate Hai Ba Trung. In Hanoi, there are many places to celebrate the Hai Ba Trung festival, but the most famous are three places:
- Ba Hai Trung temple festival in Hat Mon commune: local people place 49 cakes floating on the river flowing into the sea as a symbol of the 49 sons of Lac Long Quan.
- The Ba Hai Trung temple festival in Ha Loi commune is the biggest and most important. The festival has a procession with attractive folk rituals and games.
- The Ba Hai Trung Temple Festival in Dong Nhan ward stands out with the performance of 12 beautiful girls wearing colorful dresses dancing with altar lights.
However, the festival in Hanoi on January 6 in Ha Loi village, Me Linh, Hanoi, has its special meaning. Through the procession and performance, people understand more about the beauty of this festival.
8. Hanoi ‘s Vong La Festival
Coming to Dong Anh on the first days of the new year and visiting Co Loa citadel, remember to spend time participating in the exciting Vong La festival. This festival in Hanoi honors Quoc Cong Dai Vuong with his wife and three children.
This festival happen one a year, usually occurs on January 13 – 15 and August of the calendar month. The brilliant scene with fluttering parasol flags, along with many activities of Quan Ho singing, lion dancing, bamboo swings,… brings many attractions to tourists.
9. Le Mat village festival in Ha Noi
Every March 13, people in Le Mat village, Viet Hung, Gia Lam, and Hanoi celebrate to commemorate the citadel Hoang Duc Trung – the hero who made significant contributions to the founding of the ancient Thang Long citadel. And it is also called Ba Dinh district today.
Many exciting activities are taking place here, such as:
- Carp to the communal house
- A Water procession around the village well area
- A Cooking contest between fish and frogs
- The most special is the dance to defeat the snake. It symbolize the will of the son of the Hoang family who defeated the sea monster.
10. Tan Vien Son Thanh Festival
Tan Vien Son Thanh Festival in Hanoi is one of the leading unique festivals of Hanoi. It is held on a large scale in 2 communes, Minh Quang and Ba Vi, in the Ba Vi district. On this occasion of January 13-15, the cluster of relics of Upper, Middle, and Lower temples have been recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The unique cultural activities of the Dao and Muong ethnic groups preserve and promote traditional beauty and attract tourists from all over the world.
Experiencing traditional festival in Hanoi allows you to review many important historical landmarks, visit monuments. Above all, you can enjoy beautiful scenery, meaningful times, and memorable journeys when coming to Hanoi.
It is remiss if you have come to Hanoi just to see the festivals without discovering the cuisine here. Find out more attractive food in Hanoi right now. Don’t forget to follow yourvietnam.org to explore other interesting festivals in Vietnam.
